No. 4 Redskins sweep Wildcats to lock in title clash

Thursday

Oct 10, 2019 at 10:06 PM

PITTSFORD — Opponents looking to find a weakness for the fourth-ranked Camden-Frontier volleyball team won't get much help from Thursday's match at Pittsford.

The Redskins were rock-solid in every aspect of the game to dispatch a motivated Pittsford team in three sets, 25-15, 25-14, 25-23, picking up a road win that sets up a rivalry clash with North Adams-Jerome next week that has the SCAA East lead hanging in the balance.

C-F controlled the match at the service line, seizing control of both the first and second sets with extended service runs that included multiple aces.

Up 17-14 in a tight first set, the Redskins reeled off seven straight points with Frances Churchwell serving to take charge, and both Churchwell and Heather Shaw had service runs in a second set the Redskins led wire-to-wire as well.

While proficiency at the service line was a critical part of C-F's win, the Redskins also played well defensively, again paced by Churchwell in the back row and a variety of blockers up front, and had a solid game defensively.

"I thought we served really well, and those points helped a lot, but it was just a solid match all around for us," C-F coach Dawn Follis said. "I thought our hitting was on point tonight, our passing was really good and we played with a lot of energy and intensity."

Balance was the name of the game offensively for the Redskins, who had five players finish with four or more kills on the night, led by sophomore Dakota Sigler's nine.

"I think it's really important for any good team to be able to get multiple hitters involved," Follis said. "It keeps defenses off-balance, and it ensures that if one player's having an off-night, you've got the players in place to pick up the slack.

"This group has always done a pretty good job of setting for multiple hitters, but I think it's only gotten better in the last couple of weeks.

Sigler chipped in six digs as well for C-F in the victory, Jocelynn Nicholls added seven kills, Shaw chipped in six kills, five aces, 10 digs and 11 assists, and Alicia Fackler chipped in six kills and 10 digs as well.

Jordan Stump added four kills, three aces and 16 assists for the Redskins, Churchwell chipped in five aces and 21 digs, and Kiya McNeil added two kills and seven digs.

Pittsford didn't go quietly, making the third set a dogfight and forcing C-F to battle through several extended rallies, but unforced errors kept the Wildcats from hanging with the Redskins until the end of sets.

"We missed 10 serves tonight, and you just can't afford to hand a team as good as C-F 10 free points and expect things to go well," Pittsford coach Jessica Butler said. "We had some issues in serve-receive as well, and I think mistakes in those two areas unfortunately covered up a lot of the good things we were able to do tonight."

The loss all but knocks Pittsford out of the SCAA East title race, but Butler and the Wildcats are focused on the future, and potential district rematches with the Redskins and other conference foes.

"We debuted a new rotation tonight that we've been practicing all week, but we haven't used in a match yet," Butler said. "Coming off of last weekend's tournament we took the lessons we've learned this season and made some changes, based on what we think is going to give us the best chance to compete with good teams at the end of the season.

"I think there were definitely some growing pains tonight, but as we get more experienced in this rotation we're confident it's going to pay off for us down the road."

Jordyn Cole led Pittsford with four kills, two aces, two blocks and eight digs, Kara Hughes chipped in two kills and four blocks, and Samantha Leggett added three kills.

Sara Cole chipped in two kills and two blocks for the Wildcats, Emma Spahr added 16 digs and Laney Clark chipped in five digs and 12 assists.

Before the SCAA East title showdown next Thursday, C-F (20-5-2, 3-0 SCAA East) first heads to the Hanover-Horton Invite on Saturday, where depending on how the bracket falls, the Redskins could end up playing the Rams in a preview of the big match.

The title decider on Thursday is just the latest in a series of big matches with the conference title on the line between C-F and NA-J over the years.

"It's not a new thing for either of us to be playing each other in a match that decides the league title," Follis said. "It's going to be a huge challenge, and we have to bring our A game if we want to win.

"Even when North Adams hasn't had their best teams, they've still made us fight for every point, and they've got a really good team this year. It's going to be a lot of fun."

Pittsford is off this weekend, but travels to Litchfield on Thursday for its next match.

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